Funding

Budgeting & resources

Planning Your Budget

Use the guide below to help you create a detailed breakdown of costs you can expect as part of your Learning Abroad experience:

OSAP

Good news, you can maintain your OSAP while on a Learning Abroad experience!

  • If you receive U of T credits or transfer credits for your study abroad program, you are eligible to receive the same amount of OSAP that you would receive here at U of T.
  • If you receive internship credits you may be eligible for OSAP during your time abroad depending on your internship salary, duration, and applicable academic credits.

More information can be found here.

Funding From Other Canadian Provinces

Please contact the U of T Out-of-Province Financial Aid Team prior to applying to your home province or territory for your exchange term. This will ensure that your application information is correct before submitting the application.

Awards And Scholarships

Several funding sources are available across U of T (Centre for International Experience, Faculties and Departments), and through other institutions (Host institutions, Foundations, Governments).

Some partner institutions may provide additional funding to students, like Erasmus + (funded by the European Union) or Summer Research.

Family Support And Savings

Family and friends may be able to provide additional financial support for your Learning Abroad experience or you may have savings to put toward the costs of your exchange.

Planning

To give you an idea of your budget, you may use one of the many websites available to find out the difference in the cost of living between Toronto and your dream destination (numbeoexpatistan, etc.)

Tips

There are many ways to reduce the price of your experience

  • Subletting: you can explore the option to sublet your housing to help pay for your Toronto housing while abroad.
  • Phone/Internet Plan Suspensions: often you can suspend your phone and Internet plans in Toronto. Check with your provider!
  • Living On-Campus Abroad: choose a partner university where on-campus housing is available or guaranteed.
  • House-Sharing Abroad: be prepared to share your home with other students, or investigate opportunities to stay with host families.
  • Self-Catered Accommodation: having access to a kitchen can help save money on food.
  • Lower Cost-of-Living Destinations: select countries where the cost of living is equivalent to or lower than Toronto. Remember it is not always the reputation of the partner institution that counts but what you will take from the experience of going abroad!
  • Smaller Cities vs Capital Cities: Capital cities and big cities are often more expensive. Investigate smaller cities too. Often times your experience will be even more genuine and keep in mind that in some countries like in Europe, distance is more manageable than in Canada.

Western Europe

Average calculated in CAD, per month

CountryAccommodationExpenditures*Return Flight
Austria720~846960~10101500~1700
Denmark1446~19981300~17001000~1200
Finland1115~14061030~13301400~1600
France1000~15001091~1391950~1200
Germany973~13021000~1200740~1200
Ireland1500~18001000~1500820~1027
Italy850~910950~12001100~1374
Netherland1200~16001200~15501104~1398
Norway1300~17001419~17191237~1532
Spain961~12991069~1269863~958
Sweden900~12001100~14001416~1602
Switzerland1435~18601598~19981419~1498
United Kingdom1250~19001100~13001096~1197
Average Total1126~14861139~14281126~1337

Eastern Europe

Average calculated in CAD, per month

CountryAccommodationExpenditures*Return Flight
Russia450~610840~10401800~2000
Türkiye220~372800~9502250~2600
Average Total335~491820~9952025~2300

Latin America

Average calculated in CAD, per month

CountryAccommodationExpenditures*Return Flight
Argentina268~339870~10001300~1700
Chile472~597710~910424~474
Costa Rica537~683960~1160400~490
Guatemala391~614421~621757~806
Mexico445~754671~781429~662
Nicaragua350~420670~870724~739
Panama794~1271940~1140514~618
Average Total465~668758~926649~785

North America

Average calculated in CAD, per month

CountryAccommodationExpenditures*Return Flight
United States1000~2900960~1360280~307

East Asia

Average calculated in CAD, per month

CountryAccommodationExpenditures*Return Flight
China700~1280920~11201400~1700
Japan862~13531100~14001727~1900
South Korea585~9801064~12641652~1792
Average Total715~12041028~12611593~1464

South-East Asia

Average calculated in CAD, per month

CountryAccommodationExpenditures*Return Flight
India164~290360~5602074~2606
Singapore1569~24721200~15001863~2300
Vietnam370~638690~8403536~4088
Average Total701~1133750~9662491~2978

Middle Asia

Average calculated in CAD, per month

CountryAccommodationExpenditures*Return Flight
Israel1000~1379977~12771650~1800
Saudi Arabia379~579600~7502229~2500
United Arab Emirates1557~1990810~10601900~2600
Average Total978~1316795~10291926~2300

Oceania

Average calculated in CAD, per month

CountryAccommodationExpenditures*Return Flight
Australia1304~16871100~16201674~2600

Sub-Sahara Africa

Average calculated in CAD, per month

CountryAccommodationExpenditures*Return Flight
Kenya240~505440~5901052~2936

*(Food/Necessity/Phone/Transportation/Entertainment)